Paige Aiello 'had a positive effect on everyone she touched,' father says

HILLSBOROUGH — Family and friends filled the main sanctuary, the hallways and a downstairs sitting room of the church which hosted a celebration of the life of the 21-year-old college student whose disappearance last month led to a multiple state search, and the discovery of her body earlier this month in the Hudson River.

Paige Barrie Aiello's life was celebrated Tuesday morning at the Unitarian Church in Summit by more than 200 family, friends and schoolmates.

"Paige was loved by all and had a positive effect on everyone she touched," her father, Christopher Aiello, said at his daughter's tribute. "Her smile and her laugh are contagious."

"Let us not forget that this is a day for a funeral, a day of mourning, for an incredible 21-year-old girl," Aiello's father said. "Today we're paying homage to her brief life, but never forgetting, we should not be here."

But the overflowed church made it clear that Aiello is not likely to be forgotten soon by anyone she touched. And her omnipresent smile was a theme repeated by nearly everyone who spoke.

Rev. Kim Tomaszewski called the tribute a celebration of Aiello's "love and light, that neither time nor her death shall erase."

"Her death is not the story of her life," Tomaszewski said.

Erin Aiello, Aiello's sister, said that it's a paradox that you don't get to pick your sisters or brothers, but you do get to pick your best friends.

"Paige was my little sister, and my best friend," Erin Aiello said. "The root of my happiness, the logic of my decisions, the solution to my problems."

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Alyssa Aiello, who said the girls called her "Auntie Lys," said that Aiello remained "sweet, pure and honest" throughout her adolescence and young womanhood.

"When you lose someone you love, the world looks dark and ugly," Alyssa Aiello said. "Remembering Paige will help me to see the good again."

Aiello's high school girlfriends Samantha Pavon, Sara Cassimatis, Francesca Cintorrino and Alyssa Mahalow each called out a list of heartfelt but often humorous promises they made to their close friend, whom Cassimatis called "the glue that hold us together."

Lauren Balsamo, a college friend, said that Paige Aiello "taught her how to be a better person."

Aiello's tennis coach Larry Johnson said that Aiello always stood out, and that everyone was always happy just to see her.

"How can you sit there and be upset right now," Johnson said. "If she was here right now she'd be the one making you happy. You can't think of Paige Aiello and not smile."

Others told stories about Aiello at college, at tennis camp, back in high school, mostly telling tales of an always positive disposition.

Aiello's father brought the morning to a close by expressing gratitude to the people in law enforcement and volunteer search groups who searched long and hard for his daughter.

But the most emotional speech came, not surprisingly, from Aiello's father, who told a story about how on their family trips Aiello always had a keen sense of direction.

"I really wish that sense of direction could have lead you out of the darkness," her father said, breaking into tears. "Paige, you were loved, you will be loved — you will be forever 21."

A funeral was scheduled to be held immediately after the memorial service at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.